Basilissa Theodora

Basilissa Theodora (980-31 August 1056) was the Empress of the Byzantine Empire from 1055 to 1056, succeeding Constantine IX of Byzantium and preceding Michael VI of Byzantium.

Biography
Theodora was born in 980 to the Orthodox Greek House of Makedon, and she was the daughter of Emperor Constantine VIII of Byzantium. She was a potential bride for Emperor Otto III of Germany, but he died before the wedding. When her uncle Emperor Basil II of Byzantium and her father died childless, she had to enter politics. Her sister Zoe of Byzantium married Romanus Argyros, who became the new emperor. Romanus died in 1038, and Zoe remarried to Emperor Michael IV of Byzantium, who died in 1041. Theodora became co-empress with Zoe in 1042, and Zoe was jealous of Theodora; although she was uninterested in politics, she did not want Theodora to conduct public business alone. She also reigned together with Emperor Constantine IX of Byzantium, Zoe's new husband, but Zoe died in 1050 and Constantine in 1055. Theodora's own reign lasted for only one year before she died, and she nominated Michael VI of Byzantium to succeed her.